Doug and Sue Visit DC and Virginia - April 2011
You always feel that once April arrives and Easter is approaching that 'Spring' should be in the air and it is time for the cold of winter to be retreating from us. Well, our weather has a hard time deciding what time of the year it is. We have had rain as well as cool moderate temperatures to almost summer like conditions. This page is not about weather but my brother Doug and his wife's visit to see us. Bobbie was the excellent tour guide that she always is when we have family and friends here to see us. I stayed home and heard about everyone's activities once they came home. Their trip from Missouri took a little longer than what the had accepted - most of which was the result of weather.
Their first day with a little rain to accompany them was a trip into the District to see some sights that weren't here the last time they had visited along with some that were.
Doug and Sue in front of the fountain at the Memorial
Looking at the Washington Memorial from the WW II Memorial
A Closer View of the Lincoln Memorial from the WW II Memorial
Doug and Sue
When you stand in the World War II Memorial, you look to the east and there is the Washington Memorial - then when you look to the west and there is the Lincoln Memorial. There was the creation of a promise in the Eighteenth Century which was tested in the Nineteenth Century and found its fruition though only in degrees. Yet, the 'Greatest Generation' of the middle of the Twentieth Cenyury allowed that promise to endure. The promise of the hope in our freedom is not a perfect reality and I am not sure that it will ever be. Though there is an esence of hope present which I wish never disappears from our collective consciousness. There is a straight line that runs down the 'National Mall' from the Lincoln Memorial through the World War II Memorial right to the Washington Memorial.
Senex Magister
Sue had come, in part, with the hope that their trip would coincide with the cherry blossoms which is normally synonymous with a Washington Spring. The blossoms came early as well as rain and wind so there was little to see and appreciate upon their arrival. That didn't stop their walking to the 'Tidal Basin' in search of what blossoms that might be left.
Sue and Doug
A Happy Couple
The Tidal Basin
Doug, Franklin, and Sue
Doug and Sue
Bobbie
The Jefferson Memorial and His Birthday
Doug and Sue
From Capitol Hill
The District Seen from the top of a Double Decker Bus
The National Cathedral from the Bus
United States Naval Observatory
Number One Observatory Circle, on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory at 34th Street and Massachusetts Avenue NW (about one mile northeast of Georgetown University) is the official home of the Vice President of the United States.
Vice President Joe Biden | The White House
Official Home the US Vice President
Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington
Georgetown Scene
United States Institute of Peace
The Lincoln Memorial from the Bus
Arlington House
aka Lee Custis Mansion
From Arlington National Cemetary the bus crossed 'Memorial Bridge' heading right toward the Lincoln Memorial. Bobbie was able to take some unique and personal pictures. First, a couple of distant pictures.
Jefferson Memorial at a Distance
The Kennedy Center with the Watergate Hotel in the Background
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The Watergate Hotel, Washington DC
Bobbie, Susan, and Doug continued their sojourn the following day by going to Mount Vernon.
Mount Vernon:
George and Martha Washington's Home
Gardens at Mount Vernon
Doug and Sue
Martha
Doug and Sue
A View from Mount Vernon Looking over the Potomac
Doug and Sue
Doug and Sue
The Visitors Center at Mount Vernon
The next day was Palm Sunday and we all went to Saint David's. Then after a brunch at our house, Bobbie, Sue, and Doug went back into the city to see two more memorials. This was Doug and Sue's last day before heading back to Missouri.
The Pentagon Memorial consists of cantilevered benches representing each of the 184 persons who died on September 11th. Benches facing the Pentagon represent the 59 aboard the plane and those facing away from the Pentagon represent the 125 killed inside the building. Each bench is aligned on a grid based on the year of birth ranging from the youngest (1998) to the oldest (1930). The end of each bench also has the name of the person inscribed. Family members who died are linked at the base of the bench with their name and year of birth so all can be connected.
As you look up from the Pentagon, you can see the spires from the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, VA steaming into the heavens.
The last stop of the day was at the World War II Iwo Jima War Memorial.
A gift from the Netherlands for their liberation from the Nazis during World War II.
Return to Bruce and Bobbie's Main Page.